# Poland decommissions Soviet monument, Russia protests

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/poland-decommissions-soviet-monument-russia-protests
> Updated: 2026-08-03T19:34:56.000Z. Sources: 8. Developments: 2.

On 31 July 2026 the town of Pyrzyce in western Poland dismantled a Soviet‑era war memorial that had stood in the city centre since 1984. The demolition, carried out with a large excavator, was attended by the town mayor and a deputy of the Institute of National Remembrance, who described the monument as Soviet propaganda. The removal follows a 2022 call by the Institute, intensified after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to eliminate Soviet symbols; it is the latest in a series of similar actions across the West Pomeranian region and Poland as a whole. The site is to be renamed Independence Square and will receive a new monument celebrating Polish independence, while parts of the former structure will be transferred to a local museum and a municipal cemetery.

Following the demolition, the Russian Embassy in Poland lodged an official protest, labeling the act “illegal” and “sacrilegious” and claiming it breaches a 1994 bilateral agreement on graves and memory sites. Polish officials rejected the complaint and reiterated plans for a new independence monument, underscoring the removal as an implementation of Poland’s 2016 law banning the promotion of communist symbols.

## Timeline

### 2026-08-03: Poland dismantles Soviet monument in Pyrzyce, Russia files protest

Poland removed a Soviet war memorial in Pyrzyce; the Russian embassy protested, calling it illegal and a breach of the 1994 Poland‑Russia memory agreement.

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/poland-dismantles-soviet-monument-in-pyrzyce-russia-files-protest

### 2026-07-31: Pyrzyce removes Soviet-era monument in city centre

Pyrzyce demolished a Soviet-era monument on 31 July 2026, with mayor Marzena Podzińska and IPN deputy Karol Polejowski present. The site will become Independence Square and new monuments will replace the former

4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/pyrzyce-removes-soviet-era-monument-in-city-centre

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Cite as: Poland decommissions Soviet monument, Russia protests. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/poland-decommissions-soviet-monument-russia-protests